Up to $350 Tesla Idle Fee Settlement: How to Claim (No proof)

What happened

Class period: Tesla vehicles received in California before December 16, 2016 and still owned after that date, with California citizenship as of June 21, 2021.

• Some early Tesla buyers in California paid for vehicles that came with free lifetime Supercharging
• The lawsuit says Tesla still charged those owners "Idle Fees," which are fees for leaving a car plugged into a Supercharger after it finished charging
• The lawsuit also says that when owners refused to pay the idle fees, Tesla disabled their Supercharger access or threatened to
• Tesla denies doing anything wrong and says it followed the law and its own customer agreements. The Court has not decided who is right
• The case is Shenkman v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. RG21102833, in the Superior Court for Alameda County, California
• It affects California residents who got a Supercharger-equipped Tesla before December 16, 2016 and still owned it after that date

What you can get

Key dates

Who may qualify

• You received a Tesla vehicle in California before December 16, 2016
• You continued to own that vehicle after December 16, 2016
• You were a citizen of California as of June 21, 2021
• Your Tesla Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement described the car as "Supercharger Enabled," "Supercharger Hardware," or "Supercharger Hardware & Access" before December 16, 2016
• You are not the judge, the judge's family or staff, a Tesla officer, director, or related company, or someone who already excluded themselves from the Class
• Tesla's records identify you as entitled to benefits

How to file

1. Go to the claim portal at https://www.teslaidlefeeclassaction.com/form/claim
2. Enter the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice Tesla's administrator mailed you, then click Login
3. Complete the claim form and submit it online by September 25, 2026
4. If you cannot find your LoginID and PIN, email info@TeslaIdleFeeClassAction.com with your full name and mailing address to request them
5. To file on paper, download the claim form from the portal and mail it to Tesla Idle Fee Class Action Settlement, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799-9958, postmarked by September 25, 2026
6. File a separate claim for each eligible vehicle in Tesla's records. Owners of more than one eligible vehicle receive more than one notice

Proof required

• No receipts, invoices, or bank records are needed. Tesla's own records set the refund and payment amounts
• You must sign the claim form and attest that you are a Class Member
• You need the LoginID and PIN from your mailed notice to file online
• For the $350 disabling payment, you must list the approximate year or years your vehicle's Supercharger access was cut off for 30 or more days in a row
• If Tesla's records show the cutoff lasted less than 30 days in a row, you get $50 instead of $350

Payment timing

Payments go out only after the Court grants final approval at the December 2, 2026 hearing and after any appeals are resolved. The administrator has not published a payment method or a payment date. Check https://www.teslaidlefeeclassaction.com/dates/ for updates.

Important links

• Official website
• Claim form
• Important dates
• FAQs
• Documents

Contact

Extra details

• Benefits are cumulative, so you may qualify for more than one at the same time
• You cannot get a refund for idle fees you never paid or that Tesla already waived
• The settlement does not stop Tesla from charging idle fees after the settlement agreement was signed
• If you do nothing, you get no cash. Current owners still get the non-cash relief
• Filing a claim means you give up the right to sue Tesla over the issues this settlement covers. The releases are in Section V of the Settlement Agreement
• Tesla pays attorney fees and the class representative award separately, so those amounts do not reduce your benefits
• Use only the official settlement website. No one from the settlement will ask you to pay a fee to file

FAQ

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